A study released today said the proportion of
women's Web use in China is growing, and that women
represent great potential for a booming Chinese
e-commerce sector.

The survey, conducted by NetValue, noted that as the number
of households connected to the Internet continues rising in China,
the online behavior of women is becoming an increasingly important
factor to marketers and e-commerce players.

From November 2000 to March 2001, home Web use by women
in China rose 6.7 percent. During March, women comprised 39.8 percent
of home Net users in China's four main cities, Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou and
Shenzhen.

The average time connected to the Internet and the number of sessions per
user are
almost identical for men and women, NetValue said. Interestingly, men
visited 73.9 percent more domains, while women viewed 25.3 percent more
unique pages than males.

The study concluded that women are more likely to purchase online and
visit
Internet shopping malls. The study noted that popular shopping
sites for women during March were 8848.net.cn and 800buy.com.cn.

Women displayed 25.5 percent more pages than men and spent 18.4 percent
longer at these sites. Additionally, the percentage of male and female
users
visiting e-commerce sites was close, with 59.3 percent of the women and
58 percent of men. Of these visitors, NetValue said, women were 15.8
percent more likely to enter into a secure connection.